


You Gotta Get a Reboot

by sophieelivingston



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: 5 year old Jeremy, Age Regression/De-Aging, Boardwalk boys, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Post-Squip, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, boyf riends - Freeform, richjake, squip returns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-03-21 15:55:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13744308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophieelivingston/pseuds/sophieelivingston
Summary: Michael thought he’d find Jeremy sitting on the couch and watching tv, but he didn’t find Jeremy. He found a little boy with blue eyes, wavy brown hair, and pale skin, who looked all too familiar.





	1. Boxes

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Be More Chill or any of its contents.
> 
> I will update this fic weekly! ENJOY!

It was moments like these that Michael cherished the most. Pulling up his PT cruiser into his best friend/boyfriend’s driveway, awaiting another sleepover with Jeremy, to make another great attempt at completing level 9 of Apocalypse of the Damned! Micheal parked in his usual spot, walked down the path and up the steps, and used the key Jeremy gave him years ago to open the door. “Hey Jer, I’m here.” He said while closing the door behind him “Your fingers and thumbs better be ready ‘cause we’re pulling an all nighter!” For a moment the house was silent, that is until Michael heard a noise upstairs. “Jer? You up there?” The house was silent again until Jeremy called downstairs “Yeah.” “Are you ok?” Michael calls out, “Yeah.” Says Jeremy “In fact could come up here and help me out with something?” “Yeah sure ok… I’m coming up.” Michael ran up the stairs confused as to what was going on, and by the time he reached Jeremy’s room he was only more confused. Jeremy’s room was full of cardboard boxes, some were opened with the contents piled on the floor, while most of them were closed and taped up. Jeremy was on the floor unloading a box labeled _JEREMY’S X - MEN COMICS_. “Whoa, what the hell happened here?” Micheal asked as he entered the box filled bedroom. “Oh, my Dad wants me to clean out my closet for spring cleaning. Apparently it’s a tradition he wants to get into, even though we lived in a perfectly… well… moderately clean house for years, and have been just fine.” 

“Well then… I guess you’re too busy for an all nighter attempt at passing level 9.” Michael said as Jeremy dropped the comics he was holding with a surprised jolt. “Ugh no wonder you’re here, ugh I completely forgot Michael I’m so sorry. It’s just that my Dad wants me to have these boxes organized by the time he gets back from a business trip in a couple days, and it already took me the whole day just to go through these few, and I’m not even close to being half-done. Besides you don’t wanna watch me go through boxes all day, you might as well go home.” Jeremy looked up too see Michael staring at him with a warm smile.

“What?”

“I just think it’s cute that my boyfriend is telling me to go home when he clearly needs me.”

“Michael you don’t have to do this, I mean I promised you Apocalypse of the Damned and I failed to deliver.”

“Hey, anything with you is ten times more fun…” Michael sat down next to his boyfriend and placed a kiss on his forehead. “…even if it’s going through your personal shit.” The two boys bursted into laughter as Jeremy pushed Micheal over into more boxes. “Ok then…” said Jeremy as he thought of a job for Michael. “…I guess you could start with that box of photos over there. It’s mostly just photos of us so you can go through them, pick your favourites, and then when you’re finished, bring them to me so I can look at them.” Micheal did as he was told, however on his way to the box he noticed another one labeled _JEREMY’S STUFF AGE 5_. Micheal definitely knew which box he was supposed to go through now. Micheal took the pair of scissors Jeremy gave him to cut through the tape and open the rather small box. Even though they’ve known each other since kindergarten, Michael thought it’d be fun to take a look at past Jeremy. He opened up the box to reveal lots of stuff, including three children’s books, a teddy bear with a blue bow tie, some photos of Jeremy from when he was 5 years old, some drawings he drew back then, and a weird misshaping lamp with some holes shaped like planets cut into it. “How’s it going over there?” asked Jeremy, startling Michael.

“Uh… um great… really great.”

“Really? How would you know since your looking in the wrong box!”


	2. A Weird Lamp

Jeremy walked over to Michael to see what he what he was looking at.

“Dude why are you looking at my baby stuff?”

“Just taking a look at five year old Jeremy…” Michael said while holding one of the old pictures. “…*sigh* You were so cute back then… what the hell happened?”

Micheal laughed as Jeremy punched his arm. “C’mon babe I was just kidding, you know that I know there’s not a thing wrong with you. Although I can’t say the same for this lamp…” Michael picked up the lamp from the box “I mean what’s with the holes in the lamp shade?”      “Oh it’s a projector lamp.” said Jeremy as he took the lamp from Michael.

“You see, when you turn the light on, it shines through the planet shaped holes. Also the lamp shade spins around so when you turn it on, you see can lights shaped like planets dance around on the ceiling and walls.”

“Wow cool!”

“Yeah it used to help me sleep when I was little.”

“Aww, did this thing by any chance help you sleep as well?” Micheal said smirking while holding up the teddy bear with a blue bow tie.

“Yes, and he’s not thing, he has a name. It’s Butters, Butters the bear.”

“Oh My God.”

“What?”

“That’s just the most adorable fucking thing I’ve ever heard.”

Jeremy smiled as Michael looked at the three children’s books.

“Rainbow Fish, Oh The Places You’ll Go, and Where the Wild Things Are.”

“Yep, my three favourite books growing up.”

“Nice. You had a pretty good childhood Heere!” That’s when Jeremy’s smile faded into a frown.

“Yeah I did…  that is until Mom decided to ruin it by leaving me and Dad.”

There was complete silence between the two boys as Michael searched for the right things to say. “When did she leave?” He asked.

“Right after I turned six remember, she was there for my birthday party, and the day after she had her things packed and said she was going away for awhile and didn’t know when she’d come back. Then she left, and everything was different. She called every now and then just to check in. I’d always talk to her first about school, and life, and… you, and stuff. Then when I’d hand the phone over to Dad, he did not sound as happy to talk to her as I did. Things only got worse from there, Mom started calling less and Dad started working from home more. And before I knew it, Mom just stoped calling and Dad only got half dressed.”

There was silence again as Jeremy teared up. He sniffled and wiped his tears away. “Hey.” Micheal said while rubbing his boyfriend’s back.

“Do you want to take a break babe?” Jeremy took a deep breath in and out.

“No.”

“You sure?”

“Yep…” Jeremy said more enthusiastically. “… I mean if we work really fast, we might be able to order pizza and attempt to destroy level 9 after all!”

“Oh… um ok… great!”

Micheal was pretty befuddled after seeing his boyfriend tear up, but that didn’t stop either of them from working as fast as possible. In fact they never really worked this hard at anything besides video games. They made a bet that whoever organized the least amount of boxes, had to pay for pizza. Micheal lost, but he also had no cash, so Jeremy ended up paying. They were so proud of themselves for actually following through with something, they decided to award themselves by trying another challenge, completing level nine and eating pizza at the same time. They started the challenge at around 9pm, but succumbed to sleep at around 2am. With an empty pizza box, on the ground next to him, Jeremy’s waist wrapped in his arms, a bean bag chair underneath him, and a controller in his hands, Michael was not prepared for what would follow. All of a sudden, Jeremy was a awoken by a slight shock in his head, which turned into an unbearable pain throughout the body. Before he knew it, Michael awoken to the sound of his boyfriend uncontrollably spazzing on the ground.

 


	3. The Worlds Shortest Migraine

Micheal was absolutely terrified, and that’s saying a lot considering everything that happened to him and his friends last year. His best friend/boyfriend was on the floor, spazzing uncontrollably, unable to speak. Michael’s first instinct was to pick up his phone, and call 911.

“911 what’s your emergency”

“PLEASE HELP! MY BOYFRIEND IS SPAZZING ON THE GROUND! HE CAN’T SPEAK AND I DON’T THINK HE’S BREATHING EITHER! PLEASE I-“

“Sir, please calm down, what is your name?”

*Inhale* "Michael Mell.”

“Ok, and what location will we be sending an ambulance too?”

“We’re at his house. The address is 431-“

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Jeremy stoped fidgeting, gasped for air as if he was under water, and went into a coughing fit.

“NEVER MIND, THANKS!”

Micheal immediately hung up the phone and rushed to his boyfriend’s side.

“Oh God. Jeremy you ok?” He asked while helping Jeremy stand up. “Yeah I… I think so” Jeremy said while rubbing his head. “What the hell was that?!?” Micheal asked still in shock.

“I don’t know… maybe it was a seizure or… the worlds shortest migraine?”

“You think it had anything to do with…” Michael pointed to his temple with a terrified look on his face. Jeremy immediately knew what he was talking about.

“NO! God no, I hope not! I mean I haven’t heard anything from that evil tic-tac for a year now.”

The silence that filled the room for a moment was broken when Jeremy yawned and said “You know what Michael, my head hurts, I’m exhausted, I'm also weirded out by this too, but can’t we just deal with it tomorrow?”

“Um... sure if that’s what what you want.” Micheal was worried out of his mind that something similar from last year would happen, but he’d rather deal with it during the day than the middle of the night. The two boys then changed into their pyjamas. Jeremy was wearing a Wolverine shirt and dark blue sweat pants with stars on them, while Michael was wearing a Ziggy Stardust shirt and red flannel pj bottoms. Jeremy got into bed first and made room for Micheal. Micheal then took off his glasses and put them on the bedside table, before getting under the covers. The two boys fell asleep cuddling, pretending it was a night like any other, when clearly it wasn’t. The mourning light shined through the window and on to Michael’s face. He rolled over to find an empty spot in the bed next to him. He looked around the room for his boyfriend, but the fact that he didn’t have his glasses on didn’t help.

CLANG CLANG CLANG

A noise came from the kitchen. ‘Is Jeremy already up?’ Micheal thought as he put his glasses on and looked at the clock. ‘That’s weird.’ It was only 8:00AM, and if either of them woke up at this hour they’d usually cuddle until noon. ‘Maybe Jeremy’s making me breakfast!’ He thought. Sure it was wishful thinking, and they as a couple never did that sort of thing before, but Micheal couldn’t think of any other reason why Jeremy would be up and about in the kitchen at 8:00AM, in the summer. Since he was already to awake to go back to sleep, and he thought it’d be nice to help Jeremy with breakfast, Michael got himself out of bed and went down stairs. “You know if you’re going to make breakfast for me…” He said on his way down. “… you could at least try to do it without all the noise, but I’ll let it sli-“ When Michael stepped into the kitchen, it was a disaster area. There were Cheerios all over the floor, milk was spilt on the counter with the carton left out, and the fridge door was left open. All this did phase Michael, but he still wondered where his boyfriend was. “Jeremy?” He called out. There was no answer, but when he heard the tv turn on in the other room, he was relieved. “Mourning dude…” He said while walking to the room. “… what the hell happened to your kit-“ Michael thought he’d find Jeremy sitting on the couch and watching tv, but he didn’t find Jeremy. He found a little boy with blue eyes, wavy brown hair, and pale skin, who looked all too familiar. He was wearing Jeremy’s pyjamas, eating Cheerios, and watching tv. The little boy looked up at Michael, smiled and said “Hi.” with a mouth full of Cheerios. “Hi.” Micheal said nervously. “Uh who are you?” He asked. The little boy looked back at Michael and said “My name is Jeremy, Jeremy Heere!”


	4. A Couple More Things to Figure Out

“What?” Micheal asked the little boy, being on the verge of screaming. 

“My name’s Jeremy! What’s yours?”

“Uh… M-Michael.”

“Michael where are my mommy and daddy?”

“Oh... your dad’s on a business trip, he’ll be back by Monday. And your mom is… on vacation.”

“Why are you here?”

Micheal's head was spinning like a top, but he had to think fast.

“I’m… your… babysitter for the weekend.”

“Oh ok.” Jeremy redirected his attention back to the tv to watch ‘X-Men: The Animated Series’.

“Uh… Jeremy… how old are you?”

“I’m five!” Jeremy held up five fingers, with a proud smile.

“Right… and do you have a best friend?”

“Yes!” Jeremy’s eyes lit up, and his smile widened.

“What’s his name?”

“It’s Michael just like yours!”

Micheal was still in shock by all this, but it did warm his heart to see how happy little Jeremy was just by mere mention of him.

“He’s nice, and he’s funny, and he likes video games, just like me! He’s so cool!”

Micheal hoped Jeremy didn’t see through his blushing as Jeremy went on about how cool his best friend Micheal was, when they both heard a knock at the door. Micheal snapped out of his blushed induced trance and said “I’ll get that Jeremy, you finish your breakfast.” Jeremy did as he said while Michael walked to the door, hoping it wasn’t anyone who intended on coming in. “Hey dude what’s up?” Micheal opened the door to find Rich. “Why you answering the door? Did you spend the night?” He asked Michael, with a smug look on his face. “Yes.” Micheal said, rolling his eyes. He thought about telling Rich that it wasn’t a good time, when he realized that maybe what Jeremy’s going through has something to do with the SQUIP. Rich who has had a SQUIP himself, might actually be a big help. 

“Listen Rich, before you come in, I must ask you that no matter how freaky things may seem, PLEASE. DON'T. CURSE.”

“Um… ok?”

Micheal led Rich into the kitchen where Jeremy was putting his dishes in the sink. Rich crouched down and said “Aww, who’s this little guy?” with a big smile, but when Jeremy turned around to face him, Rich recognized Jeremy and immediately stood up. *Gasp* "HOLY FU-“

“AHH” Michael cut off Rich’s swearing. Jeremy, somehow not phased by the screaming at all, smiled up at Rich and said “Hey!”

“…hey” said Rich, staring at Jeremy in awe and horror. Micheal stepped in to break the silence. “Jeremy, this is my friend Rich. Rich, this is Jeremy. A boy I’m babysitting while his dad’s on a business trip, and his mom's on vacation.” Micheal was hoping Rich would catch his drift. “Huh… OH YEAH! Hey Michael can I talk to you about something in the other room… NOW?!” Rich nervously walked into the living room. 

“Oh… ok sure. Be right there! Jeremy could you please clean up your mess while I talk to Rich?”

*Sigh* "Ok.” Jeremy reluctantly agreed.

Micheal walked into the living room to meet a totally freaked out Rich.

“Ok... WHAT THE FUCK MAN?!?!”

“Shhhhh, we have to whisper. I know it’s pretty freaky right?”

“Freaky doesn’t even begin to- h-how did this happen?!”

“I don’t know! Last night I went to bed with an eighteen year old-“

“Uh huh…” Rich smiled smugly.

“Shut up. Anyway I went to bed with an eighteen year old, and woke up to a five year old!”

*Gasp* "You don’t think that…”

“What?”

“That… _**it**_ … has anything to do with this right?”

“No!... but Jeremy did have a pretty bad headache last night, although it looked more like a seizure-“

“OH MY GOD IT’S BACK!”

“Shhh you don’t that.”

“Oh really? That’s exactly what happened to me when mine first activated.”

“But even if that thing has somehow activated itself, then how does that make my boyfriend A FUCKING FIVE YEAR OLD?!”

“I DON’T KNOW!”

The room filled with silence when they both took a moment to calm down. After gathering his thoughts Rich spoke first.

“Look there’s a lot of things about… the SQUIP that not even I know, maybe there’s a couple more things to figure out.”

“Um…I’m not sure…”

“Well it’s worth a shot. I mean having one idea to work off is better than having none at all. But hey, when you come up with a better one that could fix this mess, please tell me by all means, I’ll wai-“

“ALRIGHT… maybe there’s some information out there that we don’t have, that could also help us.”

Rich crossed his arms and gave a satisfied smile of being right.

“But in the meantime, little Jeremy needs a babysitter, and that’s where I come in. Lets see… First things first, he needs some clothes that’ll actually fit him. Rich, are you doing anything today?”

“Well, me and Jake have a date at the park-“

“Cancel it! I need you to go down to the mall and buy some clothes for Jeremy, while I stay here, researching for info and keeping him out of trouble.”

“Uhhh no. I’m your friend, not your fucking slave. How about you go do the shopping since you know what he’ll want, and I stay here to do the research because I know where to look.”

“Hmmmmm… I don’t know. You sure you can look after him?” 

“What? You don’t think I can handle a five year old? You know I’m the kind of guy who wouldn’t let a thing happen to his friends.”

“Your also same guy who told him about the evil tic-tac in the first place! Not to mention, the same guy who lit a frickin house on fire!"

“BOTH THOSE THINGS ONLY HAPPENED ONE TIME! And it wasn’t even me, it was my SQUIP. Cmon man, please trust me on this.”

“… fine, but if anything bad happens to him while I’m gone, YOU’RE. DEAD.”

“Don’t worry about a thing dude, tiny tall ass is in good hands.”

“Don’t call him that.”

Micheal and Rich walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, where Jeremy was cleaning up the last of the spilled milk. Micheal crouched down and said “Listen Jeremy, I have to go to the mall and pick up a few things, so Rich is going to look after you while I’m gone. Be a good boy for him and do as he says ok?”

“Ok.” Jeremy said, before giving Michael a big hug goodbye. In the freakiness of it all, Michael thought this could be fun, sort of.

“Ok I got to now. I’ll be back in half an hour, take good care of Rich for me Jeremy.” Micheal grabbed his hoodie, wallet, and his keys before heading out the door. “Bye!” Micheal closed the door behind him, got in his car, and was off to the mall.

 

* * *

 

It was a pretty fun shopping trip, looking at and buying clothes that only five year old Jeremy would wear. All the clothes were too adorable to even exist. Micheal almost bought a whole wardrobe, with themes such as Nintendo, Batman, Spider-Man, TMNT, X-Men, and Pokemon. When he arrived home, he left all the clothes inside the car, and opened the door. “Hey guys I’m home! I’d also like some help carrying the clothes from the car. I bought a lot!” There was no answer. “Jeremy? … Rich?” Still no answer. “GUYS?!” Micheal ran into the kitchen and kept calling their names to no response, but before freaking out, he found a note taped to the fridge.

‘Hey, we went to the park with Jake. Bye!’

“Shit”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JUST A HEADS UP : I will only be updating this fic every other week now, cause I'm already writing another fic and it's kind of hard to write a chapter for both in only one week if u add school and work on top of that.
> 
> Keep Reading!
> 
> BYE
> 
> UPDATE: For spring break I'll be taking a little time off from this fic. But I'll be back as soon as the break is over.  
> HAPPY SPRING BREAK!!!


	5. Some Extra Help

‘Dammit, I knew I shouldn’t of left Jeremy alone with Rich.’ Micheal thought to himself, as he drove towards the park, trying not to crash his PT Cruiser from stressing. Next to him in the passenger seat, was a backpack holding a water bottle, sunscreen, bug spray and bandages. Micheal would’ve packed a first aid kit, but after looking all over Jeremy's house, he couldn't find one. Michael tried to calm down by reminding himself that it was just a date with Jake in the park, but the parent inside him was saying that Jeremy was out there with two irresponsible teenagers in a public place, where he could get lost, or hurt, or worse! Micheal knew he was just stressing himself out and tried to focus on finding a parking space. When he did, he grabbed the backpack, took out his phone, and tried to call Rich. No answer. That only made him worry more.

Micheal speed walked through the park, looking in all directions for his friends, when he saw three familiar faces near the basketball court. Jeremy was sitting on the ground crying, Rich was putting a bandaid on the poor kid’s knee, and Jake was by Jeremy's side, consoling him. Jake then looked up to find a furious Micheal running towards them. He knew Jeremy was already very upset and didn’t need to hear Michael’s pissed of ranting about whatever he was mad about, so he tried to take control over the situation. He walked straight up to Michael hoping to calm him down. 

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO JEREMY?!” Shouted Michael, completely enraged by the sight of Jeremy being hurt.

“Calm down man, we were just playing basketball, when the little dude tripped and fell. It’s just scrape on the knee, Rich and I got it covered, he brought a first aid kit.” 

'So that’s where that thing went’ Michael thought. He sighed in relief “Ok.” 

As the two boys walked over to the others, Michael noticed that Rich was a lot better at this sort of thing then he thought. Rich leaned down, kissed Jeremy’s bandaid, and asked “All better Jeremy?” 

“A little.” The teary eyed 5 year old whimpered. 

When Jeremy saw Jake walk back with Michael, his eyes went from teary to bright. He dried his tears, and ran over to hug Michael’s legs. 

“MICHAEL!” He shouted. 

“Hey Jeremy.” Michael said as he ruffled the little boy’s hair.

“What are you doing here?”

“It’s funny you should say that, cause I could ask you the same thing.” Michael turned to Rich with a stern stare, and then back to Jeremy with a smile.

“Can I go play on the swings?”

“Sure bud, but be careful.”

As Jeremy ran towards the swings on the playground, Michael turned back to Rich, angry and irritated with him.

Rich tried to explain himself “Look, if this is about the scrape-“

“IT’S NOT ABOUT THE SCRAPE," Michael continued to scold, "it’s about wherethe scrape happened. I thought I told you to cancel the park date, not to bring Jeremy along as a third wheel!”

“I was cancelling the date, but while I was on the phone with Jake, telling him I couldn’t make it, tiny tall ass overheard everything and said he wanted to go to the park. Then I thought that’d be way more fun than just being stuck in the house with him and doing research on you know what all day. Plus, I thought we could use some extra help, enter Jake!”

“Happy to help!” Jake said as he patted Michael’s shoulder.

“You weren’t supposed to tell anyone about this Rich.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure that taking care of a five year old, while also trying to taking care of whatever’s behind all this is more than a two person job.”

*Sigh* “Fine.”

The three boys then walked around for bit, trying to find a place to sit down.

“Just so you guys know, we’re not telling anyone else about this. Three’s enough.” Said Michael.

“Not even the girls?” Asked Rich.

“Nope, definitely not the girls.”

“But why not? Christine is practically a five year old in a eighteen year old’s body, she’d be a big help.”

“No.”

“What about Brooke, or Chloe, or Jenna? They like kids right?” Asked Jake.

“Brooke and Jenna do; Chloe however is terrified of them.”

“Too bad, Brooke has said she wanted to be a mother with Chloe one day.”

“Well, that’s their problem, we already have a pretty big one on our hands.”

They all sat down in a nice, shady, spot by the playground where they could still see Jeremy. 

“Alright then, I guess we can work with three people, I mean we have plenty of time to figure this out right?” 

“Let’s see, there’s no way in hell Jeremy’s dad can know about this, and he comes home on Monday so-“

“MONDAY?!” Rich and Jake shouted simultaneously.

“Shhhhhh guys, people are staring.”

“You’re saying we only have three nights to bring Jeremy back to normal without his dad knowing!?” Asked Rich.

“Yep.” Michael shrugged.

_*Sarcastic tone* “Great!”_

“Just to clarify, are you absolutely sure we don’t need any more help?” Asked Jake.

“Yes.”

“Why not?”

“Because… look… ever since the squipcident, we’ve all become pretty great friends! And while I’m happy that you guys are willing to still put up with this kind of stuff to help Jeremy, I’m afraid that not everyone else in our group is.”

Michael frowned and looked down at the grass, then he felt Rich wrap an arm around him into a side hug.

“Hey, we’re all Jeremy’s friends, and friends never give up on each other.” 

Jake turned to Rich and said “Wow, powerful words babe!”

“I know.” They both giggled as Jake kissed his boyfriend’s forehead, and Michael rolled his eyes.

“Well then, I guess we’ve got ourselves a group project. You guys think you can stay over for a couple nights?

“Sure.”

“I’m in.”

“Great!”

Just then, Jeremy came running from the playground. Huffing, puffing, and clearly tired from all the swinging. He wrapped his arms around Michael’s neck and whined, “Michael, can we go home now?”

The three older boys giggled as Michael patted Jeremy’s back and said “Sure Jer, we just need to make a couple stops on the way home. Rich and Jake are spending the weekend with us.”

“YAY!” Jeremy squealed as he jumped for joy, excited to spend the weekend with the coolest people he’s ever met.


	6. Night #1

After stopping by their homes to let Jake and Rich grab a few things for the weekend, Michael drove them straight to Jeremy’s. Since Mr. Heere never allowed anyone in his room whenever he was away, and it wouldn’t be exactly right to sleep with Jeremy in his room, it was settled that the three boys would share the living room. 

“Are you sure you guys can share the couch?” Micheal asked Rich and Jake as they all unpacked their stuff.

“Oh yeah, it’s no problem at all man.” Said Rich.

“Yeah…” Said Jake. “I mean Rich won’t take up that much space, he’s basically a carry-on.”

Micheal and Jake both laughed as Rich elbowed his boyfriend in the ribs. 

“What?!” Jake struggled to stop laughing.

Jeremy, who was said to be playing video games up in his room, ran downstairs and into the living room.

“Michael can we order pizza?” He asked.

“Oooh, yeah Michael can we order pizza?” Added Rich.

Micheal chuckled, turned to Jeremy and said, “Maybe if you promised to eat some vegetables first, then we can order pizza.”

Jeremy smiled and said, “Ok, I promise!” knowing that pizza comes at the end of this deal.

“I’ll make the call!” Rich announced as he picked up the phone.

After Rich made the order, Michael served Jeremy a steaming, hot, plate of asparagus, and made sure Jeremy ate it as he watched.

When the pizza arrived, Jake rented The Empire Strikes Back to watch while they ate. 

It was ten o’clock when the movie was nearing its end, and Michael noticed Jeremy on the ground, laying on his stomach, starting to nod off. Micheal got up from his spot on the couch, stretched and said “Hey Jeremy?”

“Yeah?” The boy said sleepily.

“It’s time for bed, c’mon, get up.”

“But the movie’s almost over.” He whined.

“I know, but you’ve seen this before, you know what happens in the end, besides it’s way past your bedtime.”

“But I’m not even *yawn* a bit sleepy.”

Rich got up from the couch, said “Maybe we should turn it off anyway, we really need to get started on that… homework.” And winked at Michael. 

Michael winked back showing that he caught Rich’s drift. He then turned back to Jeremy, held out his hand for him to grab, and said “C’mon Jeremy.” 

The sleepy five year old grabbed Michael’s hand, and was pulled up into a wobbly stance.

“I’ll put him to bed while you guys get that homework started.” Micheal said before the three boys winked at each other.

Micheal made sure that Jeremy brushed his teeth and washed his face, before putting on the Pac-Man pyjamas Michael bought for him, and getting into bed. After Michael tucked Jeremy in, he said “Ok, are you comfy and cozy?”

“Mmm-hmm” Jeremy hummed with a sleepy smile.

“Ok then, I’ll see you in the morning, goodnight.”

Just before Michael walked out the door…

“Wait!” Jeremy cried out. “I don’t have my teddy bear, Butters, and I need my cool space nightlight, and aren’t you gonna read me a story?”

“Uhh…”

Michael then thought back to the night before when he and 18 year old Jeremy stored the boxes full of his stuff into the garage, including the box that contained everything 5 year old Jeremy requested. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too hard to find.

“Of course I am.” He replied. “And don’t worry, I know where your teddy bear and nightlight are, I’ll go get them.”

Michael hurried down to the garage where the boxes were stacked a corner; luckily, 5 year old Jeremy’s box was visible and easy to reach at the bottom of the pile. He got down on his knees and quickly opened the box to make sure it had everything, and it did, from the bear with the blue bow tie to the weird nightlight. Michael took the box upstairs to Jeremy’s room wondering if the kid was still awake. Jeremy was on the verge falling asleep, but perked up when he saw Michael walk in. Michael set the box down and emptied its contents. He gave Butters to Jeremy who squeezed the bear tight in his grasp, then he stacked the three children’s books onto Jeremy’s bedside table, and plugged in the nightlight. 18 year old Jeremy was right, when Michael turned it on, pretty shapes of stars and planets danced on the walls and ceiling. Jeremy’s face lit up with wonder at the sight of the lights, till’ he turned to Michael and asked “So, what book are you gonna read me?”

“I don’t know, how about you decide.”

“Ok!”

Michael put the three books into Jeremy’s lap.

“Let’s see, we got Rainbow Fish, Oh The Places You’ll Go, and Where the Wild Things Are, choose wisely.”

“Ummm… Rainbow Fish!”

“Alright then scoot over.”

Michael set the other books aside while Jeremy maid more room in his bed. Michael laid on top of the covers and began to read.

“‘ ** _A long way out in the deep blue sea there lived a fish_** _~’“_

 

* * *

 

 

“‘ _~_ ** _and happy as a splash, he swam off to join his friends._** ’ The End”

Even though Jeremy fell asleep in the middle of the story telling, Michael wasn’t 100% sure so he just kept reading. When he finished, he looked over to find a peacefully sleeping Jeremy, who breathed heavily as he slept. Michael thought back to other nights when he and Jeremy shared a bed and he would watch him sleep for a minute or two. Michael always liked the heavy breathing which only made him adore his boyfriend even more. When Michael quietly stood up from the bed, he noticed that Jeremy was only half under the covers, so he tucked him in once again, put the book back on the bedside table, and tiptoed out the door. When Michael entered the kitchen, Rich and Jake were on Rich’s laptop, looking like they just read something shocking.

“Well, Jeremy is sound asleep,” Michael continued, “and I hope you guys are doing what I think your doing.”

“No need to get stern with us Mell.” said Rich. “We just found something that may be an explanation as to what sort of messed up shit we’re dealing with here.”

“Shhh!” Micheal shushed Rich as he made gestures to the bedroom above them.

“What? I can’t curse when the kid’s asleep?”

“…ok fine.”

“Anyway, we started our search with looking up **_‘super computer + drugs’_** and as I predicted-“

“ _WE_ predicted!” Jake interjected.

“… as we predicted,” Rich continued “nothing about the SQUIP came up, but we did find some pretty funny super computer memes that we wanna show you later!”

Michael was stone faced while Rich and Jake subtlety laughed, failing to lighten the mood.

“And then, after _not_ looking at those memes for twenty minutes, we looked up **_‘super computer + regression’_** and the first thing that came up was this.”

Rich pulled up a simple Wikipedia page about operating systems on to the screen and read, “When an operating system reboots after shutting down, it restores itself to it’s last stable version.”

“So…?”

“ _SO_ Jeremy had a really bad headache and was spazzing out last night right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s when it must have started. The SQUIP tried to reactivate itself, but it failed, so instead it tried something else. It rebooted itself, but in order for that to work, it had to reboot Jeremy along with it. Now, Jeremy’s restored to his last stable version, which is apparently age five.”

While Michael was trying to grasp whatever crazy notion Rich was getting at, Jake asked “If this is true, then what the hell happened to Jeremy when he was six?”

“I don’t know.” Said Rich.

*Gasp* “Oh my god!” Michael gasped as he thought back to something 18 year old Jeremy told him the night before.

“What?”

“His mom left, Jeremy told me his mom left the day after his sixth birthday, and that his life was never the same afterward.”

“Bingo!” Exclaimed Rich, happy that the pieces of his theory were coming together. 

“So you’re telling me that my boyfriend is a five year old because the evil super computer inside him rebooted itself, and is now… back?”

“Oh no it’s not _completely_ back, it is however up and ready to activate, so as long as tiny tall ass stays away from green Mountain Dew, We. Are. Good.”

“Alright, so I guess I’ll just give him some Mountain Dew Red and… everything will be solved right?”

Rich's expression turned into a frown.

“I don’t know Michael, last time this happened, Jeremy was fully grown. Sure, if you gave him Mountain Dew Red he’d be SQUIPless again, but what if he still remains a five year old and would have to relive the next thirteen years of his life?”

“You’d be thirty-one by the time he returns to normal.” Said Jake.

A surprised Rich turned to his boyfriend and said, “Whoah babe, since when are you so good at math?-“

“WE’RE GETTING OFF TOPIC!” Michael was starting to raise his voice. “THE POINT IS, IF MOUNTAIN DEW RED WON’T FIX MY BOYFRIEND, THEN WHAT WILL?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” Rich yelled back.

“Whoah whoah, guys guys,” Jake stepped in to calm things down, “have you both forgotten there’s a little boy trying to sleep upstairs? Look, we all know what we’re up against now and that’s way better than knowing nothing. And since your both clearly tired, and it’s almost midnight, I suggest we all sleep on it and continue our research tomorrow, ok?”

“Ok” They simultaneously answered in a much softer volume.

“Good,” Jake continued, “who knows, maybe we’ll dream of a solution!”

 

* * *

 

 

Michael put some extra blankets and pillows on the couch, while Jake and Rich changed into the only pair of pjs they both brought. Rich wore a TMNT shirt with matching bottoms when Jake wore a neon orange tank top with matching flannel bottoms. While Rich and Jake shared the couch in the middle of the living room, Michael had the lazy-boy chair right next to them to sleep in. He grabbed a ton of pillows, piled them onto the chair, grabbed a huge blanket, and curled up upon the pillow pile. 

‘Huh this is almost as good as a bed!’ He thought.

“Goodnight!” He said to the couple of boys spooning right next to him (Jake being the big spoon and Rich being the little spoon).

“Goodnight.” They responded sleepily.

It was only a few minutes before Rich’s unbelievably loud snoring filled the room (which Jake was surprisingly good at sleeping through), but that wasn’t the only thing keeping Michael awake. ‘How could they both sleep at a time like this,’ he thought, ‘knowing that our friend is now 5 years old and in potential danger of an evil super computer (again), not to mention we have fix everything in a couple nights without his dad finding out, and we don’t even know what to do!’

Michael then tried to calm himself down by remembering that they at least know what they’re up against, which him feel a lot better. He tried to get some sleep despite the fact that the loudest snorer in all of New Jersey was right next him, and he missed having someone to sleep with. Michael wrapped himself around one of the pillows tightly, pretending that 18 year old Jeremy was right there with him. 


	7. Mountain Dew Dry Ginger

Michael was having fun playing video games with his 18 year old boyfriend like always, when Jeremy suddenly put the game on pause, and turned to Michael with a smile. 

“What?” Michael asked, weirded out by Jeremy’s staring.

“I just needed a moment to appreciate how beautiful you always look.”

Both boys turned red as they giggled.

“What? no… shut up.”

Michael turned away in flattery as Jeremy continued to smile at him.

“Michael?”

“Yeah?”

Michael turned back to Jeremy who reached out his hands to pull him in for a kiss, but when his hands touched Michael’s face, they shrunk to half their size.

“AAAAAAHHHHH! WHAT THE?!” Michael screamed as Jeremy poked him with his new hands.

“JEREMY WHAT’S HAPPENING?!”

“Michael?”

When Jeremy spoke, it sounded all high pitched like the voice of a 5 year old.

“WHY DO YOU SOUND YOU LIKE THAT?!”

Jeremy wouldn’t stop poking Michael’s face with his freaky baby hands.

“Michael wake up!”

“WHAT?!”

“Wake up!”

 

* * *

 

 

5 year old Jeremy pulled a sleeping Michael’s eye lid open and asked “Michael are you awake?”

When Michael opened the other eye he sleepily said, “…I am now.”

“GREAT! Because Jake and Rich made blueberry pancakes and they told me they’re your favourite!”

Michael sat up in his chair and rubbed his eyes ‘till he noticed something different about Jeremy that wasn’t already different.

“Jeremy why aren’t you wearing your pyjama shirt?” 

A shirtless Jeremy answered back, “Why should I? Rich and Jake aren’t wearing theirs.”

“What?!”

Michael got up from his chair, grabbed his glasses from the coffee table, and wobbled into the kitchen with sleep still weighing him down, only to find two boys spooning while making pancakes with less shirts and more muscle. 

“Oh Jesus Christ you guys!”

“Breakfast is almost ready!” Jake called out with Rich wrapped around his waist.

“Do you guys seriously not do this enough when you’re alone?”

“First of all, good mourning to you too,” said Rich, “second of all, this is how we always make breakfast together.”

“Yeah, but not when there’s a child around! For god’s sake put your shirts back on!”

“OK ok, fine.”

Jake flipped over the last pancake before he and Rich slipped into their pyjama shirts that were hanging on the kitchen chairs.

Michael turned to Jeremy and said, “That includes you too!”

“Awww, but Michael-”

“Go upstairs and put on your Pac-Man shirt so we can all eat breakfast ok?”

Jeremy looked at the ground disappointment, softly said, “Ok,” and ran upstairs to his room.

“Sounds like Mr. Cranky Pants needs some coffee.” Rich said as he poured Michael a cup from a full pot.

“Yeah well Mr. Cranky Pants, didn’t get much sleep last night because of you and your insanely loud snoring. I mean after last night I can honestly say, for the sake of your friends, boyfriend, neighbours, and all of New Jersey, GO. TO. A SLEEP CLINIC!”

Rich rolled his eyes as he brought over Michael’s coffee.

“Ok just so you know, Jake and I have spent the night together over a hundred times and he has never complained about my snoring.”

Michael turned to Jake and said, “You know I was wondering, how could you sleep through all that last night?”

Jake just shrugged, said, “Easy, you fall in love with the guy.” and pulled Rich in for a kiss.

“See,” Rich continued, “if Jake can learn to deal with it so can you.”

He handed the cup of coffee over to a grumpy Michael.

“Gee thanks!” The tired boy said in a monotone voice before taking a sip.

Just then, Jeremy came running down stairs, with his Pac-Man pyjama shirt back on and said “It’s pancake time!” 

“Yeah!” The other boys joined Jeremy in his excitement.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey Jake, pass the pancakes please.” Jeremy said before Jake passed him the plate of stacked pancakes.

“Jeremy that’s like your forth one, slow down bud.” Said Michael. 

“Leave him alone,” said Jake, “the kid just loves my pancakes.” He shrugged.

Jeremy smiled at Jake before drowning his pancake in syrup.

He was finally full after that last one and decided to wash it all down with a glass of orange juice. When they all finished their breakfast, Jeremy asked “So, now what?”

Michael chuckled, “How about we all clean up first, and then we’ll decide.”

“I don’t wanna clean up.” Jeremy whined as he crossed his arms and frowned.

“Cmon Jeremy, we ate our breakfast, now we must clean up the kitchen so it will be nice and neat for later, if we all help it’ll go much faster.”

“Fine.” Jeremy said, still frowning.

The process actually did go much faster with all four helping at once. The three older boys even taught Jeremy where the dishes go in the dishwasher, how to start it, and then where to put everything when the cycle is done. After the kitchen was nice and spotless, Michael turned to Jake and Rich, said “You know that _homework project_ we’re working on guys? I’d really like to get that project done as soon as possible, so how about you guys get started on that while I help Jeremy get dressed.” And then winked at them. Rich and Jake winked back at Michael before he took Jeremy upstairs to his room. After getting ready for the day, Rich and Jake got out Rich’s laptop and began their research. By the time Michael stepped into the kitchen, they were in the middle of reading something he just had to see.

“Ok, Jeremy is fully dressed and is now colouring in his room,” said Michael, “so that should give us a bit of time for research until he get’s bored.”

Rich looked up from his laptop and said “Good, cause you need to come see this.”

“Hold on, let me get ready first, I’m the only one in this house who isn’t even dressed yet.” Michael walked into the living room where his clothes were.

“Alright, but make it quick!”

10 minutes later, Michael came into the kitchen fully dressed, with hair fully combed, and teeth fully cleaned, “So what do you I need to see?”

“Just look.” Jake said before turning the screen into Michael’s view.

Up on the screen there was a news article with a picture of two small children holding hands, a boy and a girl who looked so much alike, that they seemed to be siblings. They were obviously the same age too, probably around ten, and they both had brown skin with dark hair and brown eyes. The girl had tears in her eyes and looked like she was crying out for help, while the boy just looked confused, disoriented, and scared. 

“What is this?” Michael was confused as to how this article was useful.

“Read the headline.” Said Jake.

Michael narrowed his eyes as he read the headline at the top of the article.

**_‘Deranged 10 Year Old Girl Mistakes Her Twin Brother To Be 17 Years Old’_ **

“Again, what is this?”

Jake rolled his eyes and sighed as he turned the laptop screen back to himself, and read, “ _On April 27, 2014, in Red Bank, New Jersey, ten year old Alana Swanson was running through the streets of downtown Red Bank, with her twin brother, Connor Swanson. The young girl cried out for help, claiming that her brother needed ‘Mountain Dew Dry Ginger’, a discontinued Ginger flavoured Mountain Dew drink that was released in Japan during the 1990s-“_

“Oh yeah I know that drink,” Micheal interrupted, “I bought a one litre bottle of it on eBay once, but when I tried it, the gingery taste was to strong-“

“WILL YOU PLEASE LET ME FINISH?!” Jake obviously did not like being interrupted.

“Sorry.” Michael said irritated, in a much softer voice.

Jake continued reading, _“It was later that day when policemen found Alana crying and screaming for someone to help her and Connor, and decided to sit her down to ask her a few questions. They asked her why she was upset, and Alana told them it was because her twin brother is actually 17 years old, he ‘magically changed into a 10 year old’ a couple days before, and that she needed ‘Mountain Dew Dry Ginger’ to change him back. After having a short discussion with Connor, who has said to have no recollection of ever being 17, and a DNA test that classified him as Alana’s 10 year old brother, the police have identified Alana as mentally ill. They put her under high supervision at the ‘Sun Behavioural Health’ mental hospital in downtown Red Bank, until she gets better.’_

If Michael, Jake, and Rich’s jaws were any lower, they’d be on the ground. 

“Oh my god,” said Jake, “poor girl.”

“And poor guy,” said Rich, “he must’ve had to re-live the next seven years of his life.”

“Guys this can’t possibly relate to what we’re going through,” said Michael, “Right?”

Rich and Jake turned to Michael stunned by his words.

“Are you kidding me?” Said Jake.

“Michael did you not just read what we all read?” Asked Rich. “A guy who was once our age suddenly changed into a 10 ten year old, next thing you know his little sister’s trying to help him out by looking for a drink that could change him back, which happens to be a discontinued nineties mountain dew drink, THAT’S FROM JAPAN!”

“Ok I got it calm down.”

Rich settled down as Michael took a moment to consider this story and their situation.

“You sure this story isn’t just some made up shit?” He asked.

“This is a legitimate news cite Michael,” said Jake “plus this is the only story we’ve found that’s even remotely close to what we’re dealing with.”

“We’re not exactly in a position to not take risks,” said Rich “also, we’re pretty desperate for any information or answers.” 

Michael took another moment to consider the information they were given.

“So this article is saying that Mountain Dew Dry Ginger is our saving grace?” 

“Yep.” Said Jake.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any on you Michael, would you?” Asked Rich.

Michael thought for a moment before snapping his fingers.

“As a matter of fact I do, I still have that one litre bottle I tried a while back. I keep it along with all the other old soft drinks I have in a mini-frizzer in my basement.”

While listening to Michael, Rich whispered “Nerd” into Jake’s ear and they both giggled.

“I heard that!” Michael said unimpressed.

“Sorry,” said Rich, “but still, that’s great cause… guys… if this article is anything like we think it is, that bottle of Mountain Dew Dry Ginger could bring Jeremy back!”

“But I’m right here!”

The three boys were startled to find Jeremy right behind them, smiling. 

“Jeremy,” Michael said as he quickly closed the laptop, “hey buddy, how long have been standing there?”

“Just a few seconds, I want to show you guys what I made!”

“Awww, did you make some cool drawings?”

“Yeah, but what I made is in the backyard, come see it!”

“What, but I thought you were in your room colouring.”

“I was… but then I got bored… CMON CMON CMON!”

“Ok ok.” Rich and Jake both said as they got up from their seats at the kitchen counter and started to follow Jeremy to the backyard.

“You guys go ahead,” said Michael, “I’m gonna skim through this article a couple more times.”

Michael didn’t move from his spot at the table, although he only got a few seconds of skimming done before Rich came running in.

“Dude, you gotta come see what tiny tall ass did.”

“Um, ok.” Michael closed the laptop while wondering if he should be excited or worried, got up from his seat, and followed Rich.

Michael hasn’t been to the backyard for a long while, he and Jeremy used to play there all the time when they were little, until they both realized it was only waisting precious video game time. The backyard was full of grass with a tree the boys used to climb on in the corner. There was also a small swing set, and a playground that was basically a latter leading up to platform you could stand on before going down the slide.

When Michael stepped out of the backdoor, he suddenly stopped in his place when he saw a tower of boxes stacked on to each other like a house of cards.

Jeremy was right next to it looking proud as he said “TA-DA!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: Mountain Dew Dry Ginger is an actual discontinued soft drink that was released in Japan during the nineties!


	8. I Thought Only Girls could Kiss Boys

There was only one question on Michael’s mind.

“Where did you get all these boxes?” He asked Jeremy while still starring at the box tower.

“Oh I got bored after all that colouring, so I was looking for something to do, and then I found these boxes in my closet.”

Michael then remembered the other night when he and 18 year old Jeremy took the boxes that weren’t used and stuffed them in his closet.

He then turned his attention back to the box tower.

“Well… it’s a very nice tower Jeremy.”

“Thanks you wanna knock it down with me?”

“Um, YEAH!” Rich immediately replied with much enthusiasm.

“Yay.” Jeremy shouted in excitement as he ran with Rich to other end of the backyard.

Jake and Michael weren’t nearly as exited as the other two, but they shrugged it off and played along. The four boys stood at the other end of the yard and got ready to run. 

That’s when Rich yelled “READY SET GO!” And they all ran straight to the tower before knocking it down.

“WOO! YEAH!” They all cheered as they pushed and kicked the boxes to the ground.

“Well that was fun,“ said Michael, “but we need to back to that homework”. 

He subtly winked at Rich and Jake before heading towards the backdoor.

“NO WAIT!” Shouted Jeremy, “We’re having too much fun, there’s lots of other stuff we can do with these boxes!”

“Like… make another tower to knock down?” Asked Rich.

“*Gasp* I got a great idea!” Jeremy dashed for the backdoor before telling the guys to stay right where they were, and ran inside.

It wasn’t long before he came out with four nerf guns in hand.

“Lets have a nerf battle!” He cheered.

The three older boys cringed and groaned for they felt that they’ve out groan nerf guns.

“I don’t know Jeremy.” Said Michael.

“What, are you scared?”

The other boys were immediately thrown off by Jeremy’s words.

“No Jeremy we’re not sc-“

“You scared of losing to a little kid?”

Rich tried to interject, “Jeremy we are not scar-“ but he was cut off when Jeremy shot a nerf bullet at his head and giggled.

With the nerf bullet stuck to his forehead, Rich pulled it off, looked down at Jeremy and said “Oh it’s on!”

Rich grabbed and nerf gun and started shooting at Jeremy who was shooting back.

He turned to Jake and said “Cmon babe are you gonna help me take this kid down or not?”

Although Michael and Jake were a little befuddled by all this, Jake shrugged it off by grabbing a nerf gun, and joining the fight. After seeing all the being had, Michael did the same.

 

* * *

 

 

What ensued next was a full on nerf war, with Michael and Jeremy on one team, and Rich and Jake on the other. They used the boxes as barricades and kept stealing them from each other to increase their defence. When the game started to wear out, Jeremy suggested that they play a new nerf game called ‘Space Invasion’, which was basically the same game. Only this time, Jeremy and Michael were trying to protect their intergalactic space fortress (the playground) from evil space aliens (Rich and Jake) by shooting them with the nerf guns. When that game wore out as well, Jeremy suggested a new game called ‘Rescue the Princess’ where the prince would try to rescue his princess who is trapped in a tower (the playground), guarded by an evil dragon. The prince and the dragon would of course shoot each other and won’t stop until either the prince goes down or saves his princess. When Jeremy asked who was going to play the princess, he, Michael, and Jake touched their noses and shouted “NOT IT!” Unfortunately for Rich, he wasn’t paying attention.

“Uh uh, no way!” Rich complained when he realized what he lost.

“Sorry princess, but when you snooze you lose.” Said Jake, “If you ask me, I think you’re perfect for the part, you certainly know how to complain like a princess.”

“Shut up!”

“Ooh I’ll be the dragon!” Jeremy excitedly cheered as he raised his hands.

Jake leaned down to get on Jeremy’s level and said “Uh I hate to break it to you Jeremy, but you’re a little too small to be a dragon.”

Jeremy looked down at the ground in disappointment before Michael picked him up, said “I think I can fix that.” and propped him up on his shoulders. “Jeremy and I will be the dragon.”

“YAY!” Jeremy shouted in glee.

“Wait,” said Rich, “So if you and Jeremy are the dragon, does that make Jake the prince?”

Jake shrugged and said “I guess it does.”

“And that means you have to rescue me?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be in my tower!”

 Michael and Jake tried their best not to giggle at Rich’s sudden enthusiasm towards the game as he climbed up the latter to the playground platform. When Jake, Jeremy, and Michael got their nerf guns and in their places, Jeremy said “Ready? GAME ON!” And the battle begun.

The game mostly consisted of Jake trying to shoot Jeremy and Michael who were both against him, while Rich dramatically cried out “Oh my prince! Please come save me my prince!” from the playground platform. At one point though, Jake shot Michael’s glasses right off his face and as Michael leaned down to find them, Jeremy fell off his shoulders. This gave Jake the chance to run pass them and climb up the playground latter to Rich.

“Yay, my prince has come!” Rich cheered as Jake reached the platform. “You know, I’m pretty sure this is the part where the princess rewards her rescuer with a kiss.”

“Oh really?” Jake asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Mmm hmm.”

Jake giggled as he picked Rich up like a bride, and pressed his lips up against his boyfriend’s.

While Michael was used to seeing them make out whenever, he quickly realized that Jeremy was right to him seeing two men make out for the first time in his life.

“Uhh guys?” He asked trying to get them to stop. They didn’t even flinch.

“YOU GUYS?” Michael tried yelling to no avail.

Though Rich and Jake could tuned out Michael’s scolding, they couldn’t tune out Jeremy when he said “Wow, I thought only girls could kiss boys.”

Jake and Rich immediately pulled their lips apart and turned to Jeremy who was staring at them in awe. When Jake felt awkward about the situation, Rich was a little aggravated by what Jeremy just said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked Jeremy.

Micheal quickly stepped in and said “Rich calm down, I got this.”

He got down on Jeremy’s level, put his hands on Jeremy’s shoulders and said “Jeremy, I know you probably think that a boy kissing another boy is weird, but not all boys only kiss girls.”

A few seconds passed before Jeremy responded with “Oh.”

“You wanna know something cool about love Jeremy?”

“What?”

“When it comes to love there is only one rule… that there are no rules. When two men love each other the way your mommy and daddy do, they want to share that love by being a couple together, and that’s what Rich and Jake are, a couple who like to show how much they love each other by kissing. The same rule goes for women as well, when two women love each other the way Rich and Jake do, they want to share that love by being a couple as well. You see there are all kinds of couples all over the world, man and woman, man and man, woman and woman, some people even love both genders. But the point is that all these couples aren’t that different because they all share the same thing… love. Do you understand Jeremy?”

Jeremy looked up at Rich and Jake who were still holding each other, and then back at Michael.

“Yeah, I guess.” He said.

“Ok good.”

“Hey, what time is it.” Asked Rich.

Michael looked at his watch. “Let’s see it’s… 5 o’clock?! Wow we’ve been playing for hours!”

“I know it was fun wasn’t it?” Asked Jeremy.

Michael ruffled Jeremy’s hair and said “Yeah, it was.”

That’s when they all went inside to prepare for dinner. They decided to order burgers, fries, and shakes from a diner they all like. When the food arrived, they rented another movie to watch while they eat, _Back to the Future_. When the movie ended it was only 7:00pm and the boys were so hyped that they decided to watch the sequel as well. When the sequel ended it was 9:00pm, close to Jeremy’s bedtime.

“Ok I think that’s enough for one night.” Michael said as he tried to reach for the remote.

“But the movie can’t end like that, what happens to Doc?” Asked Jeremy who just witnessed Dr. Emmet Brown faint at the sight of Marty McFly returning from the future.

“Don’t worry Jeremy,” said Rich “Doc turns out ok in the third movie.”

“There’s a third movie?!” Jeremy immediately stood up from his spot on the ground and chanted “LET’S WATCH IT! LET’S WATCH IT!” while jumping up and down.

Michael turned to Rich with a frown, said “Nice.” in a disapproving voice and turned back to Jeremy. 

Seeing how Jeremy was much to exited to be put to bed, he reluctantly said “Alright one more movie and then it’s straight to bed ok?”

Jeremy happily said “Ok” with a smile.

It was 11:00pm when the last movie ended and Jeremy was laying on the floor out cold. Michael got from the couch, picked Jeremy up, and cradled him in his arms.

He turned to Rich and Jake and said “I’m gonna put Jeremy to bed, you guys turn off the tv.”

“I don’t know, I kinda wanna watch one more.” Said Jake.

“Yeah, how about _Speed!_ ” Said Rich.

“Why _Speed_?”

“I don’t know we just watched three movies with cool car, let’s watch another movie with a cool car.”

“It’s a bus!”

“Same difference!”

“Ok you guys have fun with that, I’m gonna put Jeremy to bed.” Michael said as he walked out of the room.

Michael carried Jeremy upstairs and into his room. He laid Jeremy on the bed as he changed him into his Batman pyjamas, being very careful not to wake him. He tucked Jeremy in and was heading for the door, when he noticed that Jeremy’s space nightlight was turned off. He thought that Jeremy didn’t need it since he was already asleep and quietly closed the door behind him.

Big mistake.


	9. I Don't Want To Live On The Moon

Jeremy couldn’t see anything but darkness for miles, he walked on, searching for a sign of anything or anyone. Until he heard… crying, someone was crying. It sounded like a grown man in despair. Jeremy followed the sound, wanting to help whoever was in distress. That’s when a figure came into Jeremy’s sight, he was right it was a man, a grown man on his knees, covering his face as he sobbed. 

Jeremy ran over to him saying “Hey mister, are you ok?”

When Jeremy got close enough, he noticed that the man was wearing a long black cloak.

“Don’t cry.” Jeremy stood over the man, patted his shoulder and asked “What’s wrong?”

That’s when the crying turned into maniacal laughter. The man reached up, grabbed Jeremy’s arm, and pulled off his cloak. He revealed to be a man dressed down in black leather with a teal shirt. The man had black curly hair, an evil smile, and electric blue eyes, like someone out of an anime horror film. 

He looked up and said “Hello Jeremy” with that menacing grin.

At first sight of him, Jeremy immediately coward and tried to pull away from the man’s grip on his arm. After a couple of yanks, Jeremy broke free and ran. Although the man wasn’t chasing after him, Jeremy could only hear his infernal laughter grow louder the further he ran. Jeremy looked over his shoulder when suddenly, he slammed into the strange man who seemed to come out of no where. 

Wearing the same hateful smirk, the man looked down and ask “Did you really think you can get rid of me?”

Jeremy started to run the other way, but was stopped by a cluster of blue pixels.

The strange man emerged from them and said “You can’t get rid of me.”

Jeremy could barely turn away before the man appeared in front of him saying “I’m still here.”

Suddenly, blue pixelated shackles formed around Jeremy’s hands. The shackles were handled by the man as he pulled Jeremy towards him. 

“Just stop trying to resist it Jeremy.” He said as Jeremy struggled to break free of the shackles.

“Wherever you go I’ll always be there.”

Jeremy struggled even more as he got closer.

“Stop struggling Jeremy! Only makes you more pathetic you pitiful, shameful…” The reached his out hand as if to grab Jeremy.

“… sad.”

Suddenly, Jeremy felt a painful amount of electricity shoot through his body as the man shocked him with a bright blue beam from his hand.

“… Loser.”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

 

* * *

 

Rich paused the movie abruptly.

“Why’d you pause it?” Asked Jake.

“Did you guys hear something? Thought I heard something” said Rich.

“How can you hear anything with the tv on so loud?”

“I don’t know, maybe I didn’t hear something.”

“You know what, maybe you should turn it down, we don’t wanna wake Jeremy” said Michael.

“Oh please it’s not that loud, 'tiny tall ass' won’t hear a thing.

 

* * *

 

Jeremy woke up screaming in a cold sweat and tears in his eyes. He couldn’t stop shaking as he struggled to see anything in the room full of darkness. It’s as if he never woke up from one of the scariest dreams he’s ever had. He was scared, all alone, and in the dark. Jeremy immediately got out of bed and opened his bedroom door to let in some light. He was a bit relieved, but still traumatize from the nightmare earlier. At that moment, all he wanted to be was comforted, to be held close by someone who’d tell him that everything will be ok, he wanted Michael. Jeremy tiptoed downstairs and peeked through the living room door. The older boys were watching _'Speed'_ , particularly the scene where the bus successfully jumps the unfinished bridge. 

“Um… Michael.”

When Michael suddenly heard a peep from the other side of the room, he turned around to find Jeremy in the doorway with eyes full of tears.

“Jeremy!”

The other two boys turned their heads and saw Jeremy after their friend shouted. Michael tried talking in a much softer tone.

“Hey buddy, what are you doing out of bed? Did the tv wake you?” He turned to Rich with an irritated frown.

“What?” Rich asked provoked.

“No,” said Jeremy, “I had a nightmare.”

The older boys expressions changed into sudden frowns.

“Aww Jeremy,” Michael said as he got up from the couch and crouched down in front of him, “don’t worry it’ll be ok.”

Jeremy then glanced at tv and saw the villain from his dream smile at Sandra Bullock.

“AH!” He jumped back and screamed.

“What? What is it Jeremy?!” asked Michael.

“It’s the bad man from my nightmare, it’s the monster, he’s in the tv!” Jeremy grabbed Michael and gave him a tight squeeze.

When Michael saw what Jeremy was pointing at, he distinctly remembered 18 year old Jeremy saying that his SQUIP looked exactly like Keanu Reeves. This wasn’t good. 

Rich and Jake were speechless as Michael turned back to Jeremy and said “Come on Jeremy, how about we go back to your room and you can tell me all about it ok?” 

Jeremy looked up at Michael with his red puffy eyes and softly said “Ok.”

Michael turned to Rich and Jake, said “I’ll be right back you guys” and left the room with Jeremy. 

After carrying Jeremy up to his room, Michael sat him down on his bed and said “Ok, tell me everything that happened.”

Jeremy rubbed his eyes before reciting his nightmare “Well it was pitch black everywhere-“

 

* * *

 

“-and then he shocked called me, called me a loser, and then I woke up.”

Michael saw that Jeremy was on the verge of crying again and gave him a big hug. He remembered times when 18 year old Jeremy would have nightmares of the SQUIP, and even if they weren’t having a sleepover,  Jeremy would call Michael, tell him what happened, and Michael would drive over to Jeremy’s house just to be there for him. He knew then like all the other times that he didn’t have to be a good babysitter, he just had to be a good best friend and comfort Jeremy.

“Bad Dreams can be really scary, but it’s over now, and I promise I’ll never let that happen to you ever ok?”

Jeremy separated himself from the hug. “Ok.”

“Ok then, it’s late, you should get some sleep.”

Michael was about to get up when he felt Jeremy tug on his arm and say, “No I don’t wanna go to sleep.” 

Michael wasn’t sure what to do until he spotted the pile of books on Jeremy’s desk.

“Ok, do you want me to read to you instead?”

“Yeah!”

“OK so which boo-“

“Where the Wild Things are!”

“Ok.”

Michael grabbed the book, sat down on the bed next Jeremy and began to read.

**“‘ _The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another~_ ’”**

 

* * *

 

**“‘ _~and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him_**

**_and it was still hot_.’** The end.”

Jeremy was still wide awake when the story ended.

“OK Jer it’s time to go to sleep.” Micheal folded up the book and felt Jeremy squeeze his arm again.

“No, please don’t leave me, it’s too dark when you turn off the light.”

Michael thought for a bit before getting an idea.

“Well then… how about I turn on your space nightlight and turn off the light.” Michael did as he said so.

"And I'll tell you what, if you ever feel unsafe at night, just lock your door." He said before he did so as well, "That way the monsters won't be able to get to you while your sleeping, ok"  

Jeremy nodded before Michael laid down on his bed, “And how about I just lay down with you here until you fall asleep, would you like that?”

Jeremy laid down, got comfortable and said “Ok.”

They both laid there for a bit, watching the lights of planets and stars dance around the room until Jeremy asked “Michael, did you want to live on the moon?”

Michael looked over at Jeremy, then back at the ceiling and said “I never thought about that. I guess no, cause why would I want to live on the moon when all of my awesome friends and family live right here on earth?”

“Huh I guess your right?”

A few moments passed before Jeremy spoke again. “Michael, will you sing to me?”

Michael was surprised at first, but then remembered how much 18 year old Jeremy liked hearing him sing. 

“Sure.”

It took him only seconds to think of a song he loved as a child and that was perfect for a night like this.

 

**_Well, I'd like to visit the moon_ **

**_On a rocket ship high in the air_ **

**_Yes, I'd like to visit the moon_ **

**_But I don't think I'd like to live there_ **

**_Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above_ **

**_I would miss all the places and people I love_ **

**_So although I might like it for one afternoon_ **

**_I don't want to live on the moon_ **

 

Michael noticed Jeremy eyes were getting droopy and his breathing was steadier.

 

**_I'd like to visit the jungle, hear the lions roar_ **

**_Go back in time and meet a dinosaur_ **

**_There's so many strange places I'd like to be_ **

**_But none of them permanently_ **

 

Jeremy’s eyes were fully closed, but Michael wasn’t 100% sure he was asleep so he decided to finish the song.

 

**_So if I should visit the moon_ **

**_Well, I'll dance on a moonbeam and then_ **

**_I will make a wish on a star_ **

**_And I'll wish I was home once again_ **

**_Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above_ **

**_I would miss all the places and people I love_ **

**_So although I may go I'll be coming home soon_ **

**_'Cause I don't want to live on the moon_ **

**_No, I don't want to live on the moon_ **

 

Micheal could tell by Jeremy’s heavy breathing and his complete stillness that he was asleep. By the time he finished singing, Jeremy was clinging onto Michael very tightly, just how 18 year old Jeremy would. Michael knew he wouldn’t be able to get up without waking Jeremy, so he kissed the boy’s forehead, turned off the nightlight, put his glasses on the bedside table, and laid back down with Jeremy. Michael was already very tired so he fell asleep in seconds.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's right! I decided to use a lullaby that everyone has heard at least once during their childhood. Whether you hate it or not, it makes up for a pretty sweet moment, so yeah!
> 
> Song: I Don't Want To Live On The Moon: Sesame Street


	10. I Want Michael

The sunlight streaming from the window woke Michael up. He felt an empty spot next to him in the bed which meant Jeremy was already up. It was 9:00am, and he could hear breakfast being made in the kitchen, which instantly made him hungry. Though Michael was still pretty tired, he was too hungry to go back to sleep, so he decided to get up and eat. He slumped downstairs with sleep still weighing him down, and entered the kitchen. There he found Rich and Jake at the kitchen table drinking coffee.

“Morning.” Michael sleepily mumbled as he opened the fridge to search for food.

“And good morning to you Mr. Songbird” said Rich.

Michael immediately froze. 

He then slowly closed the door, turned to Rich and asked “What did you call me?”

“Rich you said you wouldn’t say anything.” Said Jake.

“I couldn’t help it, I’m sorry.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Michael asked.

“Let’s just say we never thought you could sing so well...” said Rich, “until last night.”

Rich and Jake giggled as Michael said “Oh my god you guys heard all that!?”

“If it makes you feel any better,” said Jake, “We definitely didn’t peek in through the door, and record it all.”

“Just kidding, we did!” Said Rich.

“What?! Oh my god!”

“Uh huh, wanna see?”

Rich pulled out his phone from his pocket and pressed play on the recorded video.

Michael winced as he heard his own singing mixed with Jake and Rich’s giggling.

“Man you really how to put a kid to sleep Mell.”

“Rich skipped to the part of the video where Jeremy seemed to fall asleep.”

“Aaaaaaannnnd… BOOM! Out like a light.”

“I swear to god,” said Michael, “If you post this anywhere or send it to anyone-“

“We promise we won’t.” Said Jake.

Rich was disappointed that he couldn’t share the hilarity with anyone. “But-“

“We won’t.” Jake told off his boyfriend. “Besides you think we’re idiots? We wouldn’t release footage of little Jeremy the way he is right now.”

“The way I’m what?”

The three boys turned around to find Jeremy who had just entered the room.

“Nothing!” They all said awkwardly.

Jeremy, who was already over it, happily walked towards Michael, said “Morning Michael”, and gave him a hug.

Michael hugged him back and said “Morning.”

Rich and Jake smiled at them as they both said “Awww.”

Michael let go of Jeremy, gave the two boys a hard look, and said “Don’t you guys have a video to delete?”

 

* * *

 

After Jake deleted the video in front of Michael, much to Rich’s dismay, all the boys sat down for breakfast. After that, Michael helped Jeremy get ready for the day, and sent him into the living room to watch tv. In the kitchen, he found Rich and Jake looking on Rich’s laptop again.

“What are you guys looking at this time?”

“Before we answer that, are you absolutely sure that the old bottle of Mountain Dew Dry Ginger you have is guaranteed to cure Jeremy?”

“…No?”

“Are you somewhat sure?”

“Yes!”

“Alright then I’ll show you.”

Rich gestured Michael to come look at the screen.

“Just doing a bit of research on this so called 'Super Cure', from ingredients, to history. Apparently, the only difference between this drink and Mountain Dew Green, is the colour and the fact this drink has caramel in it. Also the drink was discontinued because around the short time it was released, it was considered by its customers toxic… You sure you wanna make Jeremy drink this?”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine babe,” said Jake, “I mean look at Michael, he tried that drink a while back and he’s still alive.”

“Yep.” Michael said with a smile.

“Ok fine, Mr. Heere comes back tomorrow, so you’ll have to get this drink today.”

“No problem. I’ll take a quick drive over to my place, grab the bottle and head right back here-“

“Michael, there’s nothing on tv.” Jeremy whined as he entered the room.

Michael turned to Jeremy and said “Why don’t you go work on your colouring, ok champ?”

“No! I wanna play with you guys!”

“We’re all kind of busy right now Jeremy ok, we’ll play with you in a little bit, but for now you’ll have to find something to do on your own.”

Jeremy’s sad frown turned into an angry glare.

“Fine,” he said as he stomped towards the kitchen house phone, “I don’t want you guys to play with me anyway. I’ll just call Michael and ask him to come over.”

In a panic, Michael unintentionally screamed out “NO!” 

Jeremy stopped in his tracks and asked, “Why not?”

Michael looked to Jake and Rich, who were both at a loss for words, and then right back to Jeremy. 

“Because… because uhh… one of his moms called me… and… told me he’s grounded.”

“Grounded?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s when a kid does something they’re not supposed to do, and to make sure they don’t do it again, their parents punish them, like by not letting them hang out with friends.”

“I can’t play with Michael?”

“Not right now, no.”

“When will he be un-grounded?”

“Uhh… hopefully tomorrow.”

“TOMORROW! But I wanna play with him now!”

“I know, and I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to wait ok?”

“NO! I WANT MICHAEL!”

“Ok Jer, just calm dow-“

“I WANT MICHAEL!”

 I WANT MICHAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLL!”

When Jeremy wouldn’t stop screaming, Micheal lost his patience.

“THAT’S IT!” He yelled as he grabbed Jeremy by the arm. “Cmon, we’re going to your room, you need a time out.”

“NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!”

Michael struggled to hold Jeremy with all the kicking and screaming, though he eventually got him in his room.

“You will not come out of your room until I say so, and if I hear you open the door before then, YOU WILL STAY IN HEAR FOR THE REST OF THE DAY!”

Michael closed the door behind him as he heard Jeremy jump up and down while screaming “IT’S NOT FAIR!” from the other side.

He walked back downstairs and into the kitchen to find Rich and Jake looking just as uncomfortable as they did a minute ago.

“Wow.” Said Rich.

“I know,” said Michael “I was harsh, but he should know that screaming isn’t the way to get what he wants-”

“No not that, I mean 'tiny tall ass' was really upset, all because he couldn’t hang out with you, his best friend, until tomorrow.”

“Yeah, he really did love you back then as much as he does now.” Said Jake.

“Yeah well,” said Michael “we were the only friends we had. Growing up with only one friend can be hard.”

“Damn,” said Rich “now I feel kind of bad for writing ‘boyf riends’ on your backpacks a years back.”

“Don’t worry about it it’s fine, you can just call it a prediction that came true.”

“Yes!” Rich threw a celebratory fist in the air.

“So… when are you gonna go get that Mountain Dew Dry Ginger?” Asked Jake.

“Actually, I think I need some time to think about how to make things better with Jeremy. Could you guys maybe go do it?”

“No problem, we’ll go right now,” Jake grabbed Michael’s car keys off the counter, “cmon Rich.”

“Remember guys, it’s inside the mini fridge in my basement, and of course it’s labeled Mountain Dew Dry Ginger. Oh, and if my moms ask why you’re there, just tell them we’re all hanging out at Jeremy’s, and we ran out of soda. Got it?”

“Got it!” Both boys said simultaneously.

Jake closed the door after saying “Ok we’ll be back in 30 byeeee!”

 

* * *

 

It took 20 minutes for Michael to get up the courage to check on Jeremy. He went upstairs to his room and peaked through the door to see Jeremy colouring at his desk. 

“Heeeeeyyyyy.” Michael said awkwardly from the doorway.

Jeremy turned his head, gave him a cold hard stare, and returned to his colouring.

Michael walked over Jeremy and asked “Whatcha drawing there?” Hoping he would respond.

Jeremy showed Michael his drawing as he described it in detail.

“This is me and Michael playing video games on the moon.”

“Oh.”

“Maybe you don’t want to live on the moon, but I do, cause Michael and I can play video games there forever, and be safe from our parents dumb rules.”

Michael got the gist of what Jeremy was upset about.

“Oh I see, you’re mad that you can’t see your best friend today because he’s grounded.

“Mmm hmm.”

“Listen Jeremy, I know that parents rules can seem unfair at times, but they make those dumb rules because they love their kids, and they know what’s best for them. Like for example, when you were getting all upset a while ago, I thought it be best for you to have a time out and calm down. Don’t you feel better now?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Trust me, just because you didn’t see him today, doesn’t mean you’re never gonna see him again. Look, I don’t know your best friend very well, but by the looks of things you guys seem like a pretty great pair, and you are gonna be best friends for a long time, maybe even forever. 

“You really think so?”

“I know so. So what do you say we go downstairs, and put your amazing drawing up on the fridge?”

“Ok.”

“Ok.”

 

* * *

 

Michael stuck Jeremy’s drawing up on the fridge proudly. He wanted to make Jeremy feel as if he just won a medal, and judging by the cheery smile on Jeremy’s face, he might’ve achieved that. Just then, Rich and Jake came in through the door.

“Hey we’re back” said Jake.

Rich noticed Jeremy smiling as they walked in and said “Looks like someone’s feeling better.”

“Uh-huh.” Jeremy said before he tugged on Michael’s hoodie and asked “Can I go watch tv now?”

Micheal smiled back and said “Sure bud.”

After Jeremy ran into the other room, Michael turned to Rich and Jake and asked “So how’d things go at my place?”

“Well, both of your moms were there and were suspicious so we just told them what you told us to say,” said Rich. “then we went down in the basement, which by the way smells like a freakin’ forest. I mean seriously, how do neither of your moms know that you’ve been smoking weed down there since freshmen year?”

“I guess they just really respect my privacy, either that or they’re just too scared to go down there.”

“Anyway, after a quick search though your mini fridge which is basically useless considering all the rare soft drinks you'll probably never touch, we found…”

Before finishing his sentence, Rich dug through his bag and pulled out a slightly used one litre bottle of Mountain Dew Dry Ginger.”

“…this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up you guys, the next chapter will be the last one, so get ready for a good ending!  
> (or at least I'll try to make it good.)
> 
> thanks  
> Keep Reading!


	11. I’ll Be Your Best Friend

“Alright!” Michael celebratory shouted. “Mountain Dew Dry Ginger! Thanks again you guys for getting it.”

“No problem” said Rich.

“It’s what we do” said Jake.

“Now the only question is,” continued Michael, “how are we gonna get Jeremy to drink it?”

They all pondered for a second before Rich snapped his fingers and said “I got it! How about we all go night swimming at the jersey shore tonight, make him become sick from the frigate temperatures, and get him to take the soda as cold medicine.”

There was stone silence before Michael said “Really risky, stupid, and unnecessary, but we’ll keep that in our back pocket, what else?”

“How about we all play truth or dare, and when he chooses dare, we make him drink all of it in one go” said Jake.

“I think he only needs to take one sip to do the job, but our plans are getting better, let’s keep going!”

“Is Jeremy even allowed to drink soda at his age?” Asked Rich.

“I don’t think so, but I think any five year old boy would be into doing something he’s usually not allowed to do. *gasp* I just got a great idea.” 

“What?” The other two boys asked simultaneously. 

“Its super simple, but for this to work I need you guys to just follow my lead and say yes to everything I say, got it?”

“Got it.” 

They all went into the living room and did as Michael said. 

They watched cartoons with Jeremy for about 15 minutes before Michael got up and said “I’m gonna head to the kitchen and grab a soda, anyone else want any?”

Rich and Jake caught Michael’s drift and remembered what they had to say. 

“Yeah sure” they both said.

“Jeremy, you want anything?” Michael asked.

“Daddy says I’m not allowed to drink soda yet.”

“Oh but Jeremy, your dad isn’t here right now. Look I know you had a ruff day, but you powered through it, so how about for being such a good boy, you can try some soda and it’ll be our little secret. Ok?”

“Ok!”

“Alright then, what would you like?”

“I don’t know… uh… maybe a ginger ale?”

“Ginger ale it is!”

As Michael started to leave the room, Rich stood up, said “I’ll help you with that” and followed Michael.

Jake got up as well, said “Uh… me too” and did the same. 

Jake and Rich both stood behind the counter as Michael took the Mountain Dew Dry Ginger out of the fridge and poured it into a glass filled with ice.

“Perfect, it looks exactly like ginger ale and Jeremy even doesn’t know what ginger ale tastes like so he won’t suspect” said Michael.

“I guess this is it,” said Rich, “this could either go exactly as we planned or the complete opposite. In fact who knows what could happen, Jeremy could return to normal with no SQUIP again, or he could stay a five year old forever. Or what if he stays a five year old and the SQUIP is activated or what if he returns to normal and the SQUIP is still activated. Or-“

“RICH! It’s gonna be ok” said Jake, trying to comfort his boyfriend. “I know the future looks bleak and blurry, but this is kind of our only option right now and we have to try it. And no matter what happens, we'll keep trying to fight this thing until it’s gone. Not just as best friends, but as brothers.”

Rich looks up at Jake and said “You know, I could get use to this ‘powerful words Jake’.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah.”

They both smiled before kissing each other on the lips.

“Uhh guys…” said Michael “about to try and get our friend back.”

The two boys pulled their lips apart and said “Right!” awkwardly.

They all went back into the living room where Michael gave Jeremy the drink and said “Here you go Jeremy, try a sip.”

It was the moment of truth, Jeremy took a sip from the glass, swallowed, and stuck his tongue out in disgust. 

“Ugh, this too sour.” He gagged.

Michael got down on his knees and asked Jeremy, “How do you feel?”

“Like this drink is poison.”

“Right, one second Jeremy.”

Michael walked over to Rich and Jake on the other side of the room.

“What’s happening?” Rich asked in a whisper.

“I don’t know, it’s not working!”

“Maybe it just takes a while, when I got my SQUIP and took it with Mountain Dew, it took a few minutes for it to activate.”

“Oh… ok.”

Michael knew while that might be true, when Christine drank the Mountain Dew Red last year and destroyed all of the SQUIPs, it only took less than a second to deactivate. Nonetheless, Michael decided to trust Rich and wait. Soon, minutes turned into hours as time went by. Before Michael knew it, it was already 9 o’clock and Jeremy was still the same 5 year old. Michael was sulking at the kitchen counter, struggling to reassure himself that he won’t lose his best friend/boyfriend, when Jeremy skipped into the kitchen wearing his starry night pjs, and holding the book ‘Oh The Places You’ll Go’ in his hands.

He noticed Michael’s sad frown and asked “Michael why do you look so sad?”

Michael looked back at Jeremy and said “Because I think I might be losing my best friend.”

Jeremy sat down at the kitchen counter, hugged Michael and said “Don’t worry I’ll be your best friend.”

Michael tried his hardest not to choke on his tears as he said “Thanks Jeremy.” When the hug ended, he wiped his teary eyes, took a deep breath, and asked, “Do you want me to tuck you in?”

Jeremy proudly smiled and said ”No thanks, I’m actually not scared anymore,” he held up the storybook he was holding, “But I’d sill like it if we could read a story.”

Michael smiled as Jeremy handed him the book and sat on his lap. After realizing that this might be the last time, Michael started to read.

**_“‘Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away! ~’”_ **

 

 

* * *

 

 

 ** _“‘You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So...get on your way! ~’_** The End”

Jeremy smiled up at Michael, said “Thanks Michael.”, hugged him, grabbed the book, hopped of his lap, and said “Goodnight.”

Rich and Jake entered the room just as Michael asked “You sure you don’t want me to tuck you in?”

“No thanks, I think I can do it.” Jeremy then turned to Jake and Rich and said “Goodnight Rich, goodnight Jake.”

“Goodnight” they both said as Jeremy walked up the stairs to his room.

“Would you look at that,” said Rich. “Tiny tall ass is growing up thanks to you.”

“Thanks to us.”

“We're watching a movie in the living room, wanna join us?” Asked Jake.

“No thanks, I think I’ll stay out here and wait for something to happen.”

“…Ok?”

Rich and Jake went into the living room, and watched the movie as Michael sat at the kitchen counter waiting for a scream, or cry, or sounds of distress from Jeremy. Something that told Michael that the Mountain Dew Dry Ginger worked, and that his best friend/boyfriend was back. Anything. A full two hours passed and the only change that happened was the coffee that Michael made to stay up. He didn’t trust himself enough to fall asleep just yet. 

Rich and Jake checked on him when their movie was over.

“Hey, you going to bed soon?” Asked Jake.

“I can’t.” Michael said before sipping his coffee.

“Michael I know you wanna be there for Jeremy if something happens, but staying awake all night won’t change anything” said Rich.

“You don’t understand, something is just telling me that I’ve gotta be awake when something happens so I can be right on the scene. And if I don’t stay awake… well… it’ll be bad? I-I don’t- I just gotta stay up. I’ll wake you guys if something happens.”

“Ok…” said Jake.

“Goodnight Michael” said Rich.

“Night.”

And so as the night went on, Michael struggled to stay awake while waiting for something, anything to happen to Jeremy. It was a race against time and sleep, which he eventually lost at around 2:00am, out cold on the kitchen counter. Everything was silent, dark and still, until Michael was woken up by a sheer shriek. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Michael abruptly stood up and rubbed his eyes. This was no ordinary scream, this was a bloody murder scream, an actually good horror movie scream, the scream of a five year old in a great amount of pain. Michael looked up to see an electric blue light, glowing from upstairs. It was coming from Jeremy’s room. He sprang from his seat and ran into the living room.

 He screamed as he shook Rich and Jake awake “GET UP YOU GUYS! GET UP GET UP!”

“Huh? what is it? What’s happening?” They sleepily muttered while struggling to comprehend what was going on.

“Something’s happening to Jeremy, I think the Mountain Dew Dry Ginger’s working! CMON!”

Rich and Jake immediately got up from the couch and all three boys ran as fast as they could up the stairs. When they reached Jeremy’s room, they could see the electric, blue, light, seeping through the cracks of the of the door, and could hear the loud, antagonizing, screaming, coming from the other side.

“Don’t worry Jeremy we’re coming!” Michael yelled as he tried to open the door.

He tried turning the knob, but it wouldn’t budge. It was locked. He then remembered last night when he told Jeremy to lock his bedroom door if he ever felt unsafe.

“Crap it’s locked!” He shouted. 

“We need something to unlock it” said Rich.

“Ooh, I have a credit card in my pocket” Jake said as he pulled out his credit card.

“Wait, you seriously keep your credit card in your pjs?” asked Michael.

“It’s for nighttime emergencies just use it!”

Michael took the card and poked it around in the door slot, but it still didn’t work.

“It won’t unlock!” He cried.

“Dammit!” Jake shouted, “Uhh maybe we can use a bobby pin.”

Both Michael and Jake then turned to Rich.

“What? Why would I have one?” He asked.

Jake tried to explain, “Well I just figured babe since you dye your hair maybe you also-“

“I may dye my hair, but I don’t fucking accessorize that much!-”

“YOU GUYS” shouted Michael, “cmon there’s gotta be some way we can-“

Just then Jeremy’s screaming abruptly stopped and the electric blue light seeping through the door faded. All was silent.

“Jeremy?” Michael called out hoping for an answer. The silence remained still. “Jeremy?!” He called out louder, still with no answer. 

Michael didn’t know what to think, but all he knew was that something happened to his best friend. Maybe something so bad, it was now a life and death situation.

That’s when he suddenly started banging on the door and repeatedly screamed “JEREMY! JEREMY! PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR! PLEASE!” Rich and Jake tried to hold him back, but that didn’t stop him “JEREMY! JEREMY! JEREM-“

That is until Jeremy eventually opened the door to reveal himself. Only this time his hair was longer, he was significantly taller, and the pjs he went to bed with were stretched and torn, for he could no longer fit into them. He was back.

“WHAT THE FUCK MICHAEL?!” he yelled in his normal voice, “IT’S THREE AM, WHY ARE YOU BANGING ON MY DOOR?!”

Michael’s sudden joy was unaffected by Jeremy’s enraged screaming. He had his best friend back and he couldn’t be happier.

In fact he was crying tears of joy when he screamed out “JEREMY!”, and launched himself at his boyfriend.

He happily squeezed Jeremy with all his might while saying “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it would work, I knew it!”

Rich and Jake joined in on the hug as Rich said “Welcome back dude!”

Jeremy who was completely dumbstruck by everything happening, said “Uh thanks… but wait” he pushed away from the huggers, “where have I been? And why am I wearing pyjamas that don’t even fit?” He turned around to find the few changes to his room. “And why is all my baby stuff here?” He turned back to Rich and Jake. “And when did you guys even get here?!” 

“You seriously don’t remember anything micha?” Michael asked

“Uh uh, I’ll I remember is that seizure I had earlier, then we both went to bed, and now your banging on my bedroom door in the middle of the night!”

”Oh…” Michael struggled to find the words to explain to Jeremy. “Um… well… you see Jerbear, that actually happened three days ago.”

“Wait what? I-I don’t understand, what do you mean? What happened?”

Michael still didn’t know how to tell Jeremy what he, Rich, and Jake, had been through in the last few days. “I’m not sure you can handle the truth Jer.”

Jeremy then smiled and said “Michael, I had an evil tic-tac take over my brain, and I almost let it take over the entire school, I think I can handle it”

“…*Sigh* Alright then.” Michael braced himself before telling Jeremy about the extremely weird, but surprisingly fun journey he, Jake, and Rich, were on during that weekend. “Well, after you and I went to bed, it all started later that morning when I woke up alone, and I heard a noise coming from the kitchen-“

 

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so thus ends one of my first fics!  
> I had a lot of fun writing this one, but it is now the time to move on.  
> You guys haven't seen the last of me though, for I have tons of ideas for new fics! (and not just for Be More Chill)  
> I don't want to give too much away for my next fic, but here's a hint: Baby boyfs  
> Thx soo much for all of the support u guys, please don't forget to comment and tell me what u think!  
> See u guys next time
> 
> Keep reading!


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